Search This Blog

Happy Valentine's Day (see how normal the title is)!

I'm not against Valentine's Day - let's start there :-).

Today is the day for lovers, friends, thinkers, feelers, dreamers, and rebels. The thing about Valentine's Day that is so unique is it garners a response from everyone. You can never respond with nothing. If you think you are not slightly affected then you are lying. A day that attempts to celebrate love is going to make you wrestle or think about something. It is in our DNA. We are all lovers. We are givers and receivers of love. This is what we were created for. This is what we do.

Personally, I think the idea of Valentine's Day would be great if it actually made us love one another more. With the condition of America and most of the world, we should seriously reconsider what defines love and what we celebrate as love - but that's not for this blogpost.

However, if I was an alien from another planet and was never socialized by earthly celebrations, I would seriously wonder why the human race goes out of their way to make their partners or desired lovers extra loved on February 14th. I would juxtapose that with the amount of hatred and unhealthy marriages and relationships that exist, and quickly realize that there are plenty of leaks in this idea of Valentine's Day. Why would people treat each other so well on this day, and then beat each other up the rest of the year?

This day affects people differently. There are those that love to be celebrated on Valentine's Day. There are those deeply in love that use it as a day to express love to one another. There are those that are single and try to hide for the day. There are those that are bitter and become anti-Valentine's day. There are those that act unaffected and apathetic because all their past attempts at love have not worked out. There are those that don't think much about it because it hurts to acknowledge it. There are the anti-consumerists - the rebels - the workaholics - the ones who can't get enough - the manipulators - the list goes on.

What power isn't it? What power it is to buy things or to say things that can move a person's heart. What is it about Valentine's Day that can make someone fall in love with the idea of being in love? Or the ability for a man to win a woman's heart. Or for a woman to make a man feel like a king? How come that a man made day has compelled the world to find love - to make love - to conjure up feelings - to be genuine and artificial all at the same time.

Psalm 42:8: By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

The biggest misconception about Valentine's Day, is that it reduces love to an expected feeling. Love equals happiness and flowers and chocolates and gifts and romantic words. I find that the dissonance in my soul with respect to Valentine's Day is this. I have known God's supernatural and holisitic love in my life to go beyond the feeling - beyond the romance - beyond the wooing and far beyond my emotions. I find King David expressing God's love for him in the midst of such pain, such torture, such unadulterated agony. I find him reaching out to God's love when he doesn't feel like it - when he doesn't feel God's love or mercy. I find King David realizing that love is equally fiery when there are no flowers or candy. The mood wasn't right for love to breathe something brand new. The atmosphere wasn't ethereal or starlit for him to access a deep, passionate love with God - yet there was something so precious that God's love had for him in that very moment.

In any human celebration. In any effort that we make to show love. May it be a reflection of the only love that matters. For by day, our God directs His love. By night, His song remains in us. Take Valentine's Day. Use it for all of its bells and whistles. Adore one another and love lavishly. But always remember that LOVE is far more than anything we humans can ever reduce it to. Love is God. And God is love. We are loved. You are loved. We are lovers, searching for the One that Loved first. Happy Valentine's Day. Peace, and much Love to you - Jeevo.